May 24, 2020 - Ascension Sunday

Welcome to the Virtual Parish weekly worship! We encourage you to participate with your family in the following Liturgy of the Word. You will find audio recordings of the readings and videos of Father Au reading the Gospel and providing his Homily.

If you follow us on Facebook, we encourage you to have a discussion regarding these readings and homily. Have a Blessed weekend and stay well.

The Readings

Audio of the readings, read by Shrine Parishioner Andrea McKoy

First Reading: Acts 1:1-11

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Response: "God mounts his throne to shouts of joy; a blare of trumpets for the Lord."

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23

Gospel

Matthew 28:16-20

Homily

We can't return to life as it was.

Today's feast marks the end of the special period after the Resurrection when Jesus appeared to His disciples to reveal the truth of the Resurrection and give them their mission as His church. He teaches them that His resurrection is not about returning to life as it was, but the beginning of God's transformation of life and the world into what God calls us to be. In His going to the "right hand of the Father" and sending them the Holy Spirit, He will empower them to be His witnesses in leading others into the future God wants to create.

We too are given the call that was given to the disciples in that experience of the Ascension: stop trying to return to a past that cannot be or to keep the present from changing, but be not afraid to let go and move into the future with all of its uncertainty and challenges trusting that the Risen One will be there to empower us to deal with all those challenges. The person of faith must look to the future not with fear and dread but with hope and anticipation, trusting that Christ will be at the heart of all that the future brings.

Intercessions

That the Church may give witness to the Risen Lord and call all nonbelievers to conversion, we pray to the Lord...

That the pope, bishops, and all clergy may be effective witnesses of the Lord risen and ascended, we pray to the Lord...

That the nation's leaders will be mindful of the needs of the diverse people they are called to govern and serve, we pray to the Lord...

That the Ascension may increase our awareness of the dignity of every human life, created to share life forever in the heights of heaven, we pray to the Lord...

That all parents may experience the profound joy and gratitude of being vessels of life and of faith for their children, we pray to the Lord...

That those who are in need of hope be inspired by the Ascension of our Lord and trust firmly that God offers them eternal happiness and the means to obtain it, we pray to the Lord...

That the members of our parish and families who have died may share in the joys of eternal life, we pray to the Lord...

Closing Prayer

O God, you have glorified our victorious Savior
with a triumphant resurrection from the dead,
and ascension into heaven,
where he sits at your right hand.
Grant, we ask you,
that his triumphs and glories may ever shine in our eyes
to make us see more clearly through his sufferings,
and more courageously endure our own;
being assured by his example,
that if we endeavor to live and die like him,
for the cause of your love in ourselves and others,
you will raise our dead bodies again,
and conforming them to his glorious body,
call us above the clouds,
and give us possession of your everlasting kingdom.
Through the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen